Croatian diplomat suspended for 'white Europe' comments

A senior Berlin-based Croatian diplomat has been accused of damaging her country's reputation after she wrote inflammatory Facebook posts alongside idyllic images of the Adriatic coast.

"Just white Europeans as it used to be only 30 years ago in the whole of Europe," wrote Elizabeta Madjarevic.The foreign minister said she was being recalled.The incident has embarrassed Croatia, which only joined the EU in 2013 and takes over its presidency next January.The Facebook account of Ms Madjarevic, who is first secretary at the Berlin embassy, has now been deleted.But the diplomat's views were exposed by Croatia's Index.hr website, which said that in an 8 August post, under sun-drenched images of Croatia, she referred to "white Europeans" and a "pure and authentic Europe". The comments were characteristic of white nationalists and neo-Nazis, it said.Initially she defended her posts, arguing that she had a right to speak as a private individual. "I am neither an official nor a politician, but an ordinary person who has the right to privacy," she was quoted as writing on Facebook.She also suggested her Facebook page had been hacked.However, Index.hr reported that in earlier Facebook posts she had written about the "Islamisation agenda" of Muslims and espoused homophobic views. In one post she linked LGBTQ to paedophilia.Ms Madjarevic was also outspoken about German attempts to integrate migrants into society, it said.